Romeo and Juliet (2013)

Romeo and Juliet Synopsis

Romeo and Juliet, William Shakespeare’s epic and searing tale of love, is revitalized on screen by writer Julian Fellowes (Downton Abbey) and director Carlos Carlei (The Flight of the Innocent). An ageless story from the world’s most renowned author is reimagined for the 21st Century. This adaptation is told in the lush traditional setting it was written, but gives a new generation the chance to fall in love with the enduring legend. With an all-star cast including Hailee Steinfeld, Douglas Booth, Paul Giamatti and Stellan Skarsgard, it affords those unfamiliar with the tale the chance to put faces to the two names they’ve undoubtedly heard innumerable times: Romeo and Juliet. Every generation deserves to discover this lasting love.

If Hollywood is going to keep bringing William Shakespeare's classic romance Romeo and Juliet back to the big screen, then that means that they are going to have to approach it from absolutely every creative angle imaginable. In the last few years alone we've seen multiple examples of this, but now another one is coming down the pipe.

William Shakespeare's Romeo & Juliet has long inspired filmmakers with its tale of star-crossed lovers. But the director of Gremlins has a new take on this old school romance, and it involves the financial crisis, vampires, and werewolves. Because obviously?

If you were a teenager 15 years ago, your definitive Romeo and Juliet were definitely Leonardo DiCaprio and Claire Danes. If you were a teenager 25 years before that, you were all about Leonard Whiting and Olivia Hussey from the 1968 version of the story. Now this Tumbl'd and Twitter'd generation of teens is getting their own tragic love story, with this new adaptation of Romeo & Juliet starring up-and-coming youngsters Hailee Steinfeld and Douglas Booth

Believe it or not, we've actually been waiting for this version of Shakespeare's most well-known love story for over two years now. The lead of Juliet was actually one of the first roles that star Hailee Steinfeld landed after her brilliant breakthrough performance in the Coen brothers' True Grit, but it looks like it was time well spent.

Based on the lasted bit of casting news for the Carlo Carlei directed Romeo and Juliet adaptation, it looks as though the film has been mining some of premium cable's talent, with Homeland’s Damian Lewis (also known for his role in HBO’s Band of Brothers), Californication’s Natascha McElhone, and Christian Cooke of Starz’ upcoming drama Magic City set to join the film, among others.

Using one story to tell another seems to be a popular theme these days, with TV series Grimm and Once Upon a Time both working famous literary characters into modern-day stories in their own ways. Shakespeare’s Romeo and Juliet has been adapted to film before, but the upcoming film Juliet sounds like less of an adaptation of the tragic tale as it is a sequel, and now it has a director.

Rebecca Serle’s debut novel hasn’t even been published, yet Hollywood’s so convinced by its cinematic merit that they’ve already hired a director in Michael Sucsy (Grey Gardens) for the adaptation and have begin discussions with Keira Knightley for the lead role. How’s that for a vote of confidence in Serle’s material?

Sucsy, who wrote and directed 2009’s Grey Gardens with Drew Barrymore and Jessica Lange, has agreed to helm an adaptation of Rebecca Serle’s debut novel Rosaline, which views the classic Romeo and Juliet tale through the eyes of Romeo’s ex-girlfriend

Hunter appears to be heading back to the big screen after a six-year hiatus, signing on to one project and lining up another. She has joined Viola Davis and Maggie Gyllenhaal in director Daniel Barnz’s production of Still I Rise. She’ll play the head of the teacher’s union.